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THE ‘BEING CREATIVE’ ROOM
One of our meeting rooms in our Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) headquarters building is named ‘Being Creative.’ It was designed to foster creative thinking. The dictionary defines “being” as “something that actually exists; it is an inner state.” Being Creative means we are all born creative—it is one of the generous qualities with which we are gifted. We are all inherently creative, whether we accept it or not, and whether we activate it or not.. It’s up to you activate it. You don’t have to be young to start a creative life or to start think creatively. Just say ‘welcome’ to the first tangible step in your creativity journey.
The ‘Being Creative’ room is one of the signature rooms in SEWA headquarters. It’s such a positive environment, from the welcoming design to the Pablo Picasso quote on the wall: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
Another wall is decorated with a colorful graphic that features a large ‘Being Creative’ circle in the middle. Childlike thinking qualities surround the circle to emphasize the notion that creativity is built in from birth. The qualities are: playfulness, cheerful, curious, freedom, independent, exploration, assertiveness, possibility, and openness. The purpose is to cultivate open-ended thinking aimed at generating fresh views and novel solutions. This idea is illustrated in diagram 1 below:
Diagram 1 children’s thinking qualities
CHILDLIKE THINKING
In this room, we challenge ourselves to solve unsolved problems by giving our minds a way to look at the situation from a new perspective. Something in our consciousness must shift in order for us to be able to see how to act positively to the challenge of the time. When we imagine ourselves as seven year olds, it vastly increases our creative output on a variety of challenging tasks. A child’s view of the world is uncomplicated and direct. We take inspiration from children as we foster innovation.
